FRIDOLIN WEIS BENTZON Andreas (a cura di Fiorenzo Serra e Dante Olianas)
Is Launeddas - La musica dei Sardi

ISCA 0004

8032644830042
Iscandula
Italia

 

The “launeddas” is a triple clarinet played with the technique of circular breathing and it is made out of natural materials. It can be found only in Sardinia where it has had an unbroken history for more than 3.000 years. The Danish anthropologist Andreas Fridolin Weis Bentzon heard this instrument being played in 1953 when he was 17. From then on, until his premature death at the age of 35, he would devote all of his intellectual energy to the study of the launeddas and to the island of Sardinia. In 1962 he decided to bring with him a movie camera, a spring wind “AGFA Movex” without any connection to his tape recorder (a Majak also spring wind) and with such an equipment he shot a series of scenes which show, in its daily life and music, the world of the launeddas players and the Sardinian social and economic situation. The existence of this footage was unknown until 1981, when Dante Olians, while listening to some sound tapes in the Danih Folklore Archive, noticed a strange camera noise which alerted about possible existence of a film footage. After having recognized places, people and different tunes, the Association Iscandula decided to involve the Sardinian film director Fiorenzo Serra in the editing of the footage in a documentary film which would, both save the scientific aspects of Bentzon’s materials and make a film suitable to a wide audience. The final result is a 38-minute touching documentary film which was awarded the best Scientific Film prize by the I.A.M.S. (International Association for Media in Science) and considered, by the film critic Gianni Olla in SARDEGNA NELLO SCHERMO, as “… one of the most important documentary materials ever produced in Sardinia” . All the materials are now available in a DVD which contains: 1. the film in Italian, English, Sardinian, Danish, French, Spanish, Japanese; 2. footage of interviews with Italian or English translations with: Adrian Bentzon, Sara Ruth Zedeler, Alberto Cirese, Christian Ejlers, Aristide Murru, Peter Jan Crawford, Maria Vittoria Migaleddu, Michael Nielsen of the Danish Folklore Archive, Giuseppe Orrù; 3. a complete version of all the original footage shot by Bentzon; 4. extra photographic material with pictures taken by A. F. W. Bentzon during the shooting, by Dante Olianas during the editing and by Uliano Lucas on the occasion of the premiere of the film; 5. the list and the description of each original scene with the names of the places and the people recognized in the footage (in HTLM format); 6. a booklet in Italian and English containing the texts of: Uliano Lucas, Gianni Olla, Peter Crawford, Dante Olianas, Aristide Murru. 7. the transcription and translation, by Aristide Murru, of the songs played in the film together with the poetical comments by Paolo Zedda (only in Italian).